Manuela Bailando Salsa

Hola! I just realized I haven't posted anything on here since January! Where does the time go, let me ask you?

I hope you are enjoying the beautiful glorious weather as much as us by the way.
So what's up with Manuela? We have a Bachata Workshop coming up, it's in a dance studio with mirrors and all, but don't let that scare you, it's a great way to check your postural alignment and body movement and improve them! It's gonna be a two hour workshop focusing on, guess what? body movement and musicality and breaking down some beautiful steps and turns to help you increase your confidence on the dance floor.

Workshops are great to go more in depth into the technique of the dance, so we hope to see you all on Sunday 6th June at Abbey Sports and Leisure Club.

We are also really, really excited to announce a Cuban Rumba workshop on Sunday 11th July, same location and time, with Guest Teacher Alice from France, accompanied to live percussions by Baptiste Romano, if this name tells you something, it is because Baptiste is my brother, who is a Cuban Percussionist. Baptiste and Alice are travelling from Lyon, France for this occasion. So this is not to be missed! Rumba is one of the ancestors of Salsa and salsa songs often break into the Rumba rhythm so s a Salsa dancer, it is essential to become familiar with the Rumba Rhythm and dance to get a greater understanding of the musicality and the dance.

You will be able to show off our newly acquired dance skills at the next Salsa party on Friday 16th July 2010! I don't know about you, but I can't wait!

Hola guys!

This year is definitely going to be a Year of Dance!

There is so much going on!

First of all, our new courses are starting next week! We will be doing Rueda, new routines and footwork! It's gonna be Caliente! Our parties are coming up quickly as well, on 19th February 2010  and 19th February 2010. We'll keep you posted on these, including our participating guest teachers and Djs.

We are also taking part in a County Council wide initiative to get people to engage in Dance as a form of exercise and I have been asked to teach Zumba in Earl Shilton and Salsa near Melton this year!

Yes, I am now a Zumba as well as a Nia and Salsa instructor! Zumba is a Latino Dance Workout and it's so much fun you don't even realize you are exercising! So I hope many of you try Zumba this year! And Nia as well of course, Nia is the best you can find in fitness fusion, we dance to beautiful, varied world music. Nia is energising and great fun too. You just have to try it! 2010 is the Year!

Salsa, Zumba and Nia Wishes from Rodolfo and I.
And Remember, keep dancing!

Hi to you all who have walked and danced with us for almost a year now, maybe less.

Rodolfo and I are so grateful to be able to share our passion for Cuban Salsa and Nia with you and our only hope is to extend our circle in the year to come, 2010.

By the way, I have created a new Facebook group for Nia, it's called niatribe/Facebook so feel free to join the the tribe!

We really believe that dance brings joy, happiness, connection and that is what we honestly and openly wish to share with you. It gives us a much needed space to reconnect and focus on our bodies and away from our minds, even  for an hour. But there wouldn't be a dance without the presence of the music.

There is something magical about music, especially Salsa music and we hope we gave you a glimpse of that magic in our classes and parties.

So have a wonderful Christmas season with lots of music and warmth and don't forget to dance!

Merry Christmas

Magali

What is the Nia Technique? TRANSFORMATIONAL FITNESS

There is a technique called Nia.  It is a way of exercising and living in your body that is gentle and loving, and yet still supports your desire for endurance, strength, and flexibility.  Nia blends dance styles, martial arts, and healing arts for a fitness program that is expressive, grounding, healing and empowering, while toning and strengthening the body and energies.

Nia is fuelled by passion and directed by intent.  Nia nudges us towards mindfulness.  Becoming aware of how we move and why.  Making movement choices increases the possibility of making new and healthy choices in our everyday moments.  Choosing the path of least resistance, (or greatest ease), whether physical, emotional or mental attitudes are why Nia is transformational.

Reclaim your power, balance and joy.  Feel fully alive in your body and life. 

Nia coaxes us into a relationship with our body that is grounded in love and respect.  An attitude that allows us to relax and surrender into the wisdom of the body, letting it teach the mind.  Movements, emotions, thoughts, become sensations for us to observe from a powerful centered place where we know who we are and can choose how to respond to the sensation.


Try a Nia class and discover how Nia BRINGS BODIES BACK TO LIFE.

Hi everybody!

We are really excited to announce that Juan from Salsa De Cuba, dance company based in Manchester will be joining us next Friday.

He will be teaching the two Rueda classes at the beginning of the evening. The first class for Beginners will be at 7pm followed by a class for Intermediate students at 8pm. He will also be give a Rumba performance later on in the evening.

Juan has recently returned from performing and teaching in Miami and he has taught at the Wales Cuban Salsa Congress. His vibrant personality and fun teaching style will for sure get you in a dancing mood!

On top of that, Free parking, great dance floor and really cheap drinks, everybody is warmly welcome, whether you are new to Salsa, you have been dancing for a few weeks or a few years.

It's going to be a great party, we can't wait until next Friday! See you there everybody.

Hi Everybody,

We have been looking for a new venue for our Sunday night, one of our criteria is that it's got to feel right. We think we have found the place, MIDAS BAR on 27 Yeoman Street, right next to Curve. It is friendly, classy and spacious, what else could we ask for?

The times of the classes remain the same,
7pm : Beginners Class with Magali.
8pm: Improvers Class with Magali and Rodolfo.
9pm: Intermediate Class with Magali and Rodolfo.
Free dancing from 10 pm until 12am .

Something to spice up those depressing Sunday evenings in Leicester! Our vision is to give Leicester a little bit more of a Latin Vibe, it's a big job but the word "impossible" is not in our vocabulary!
All the Latin people are already there so if you are learning Spanish, this is the place to be as well!

Music wise, Rodolfo caters to all styles so you shouldn't worry about that.

We are counting on your support to make this night a success.

Hope to See you all on Sunday 6th September 2009.

Magali

Hi everybody!

I started my Nia class again last night after a break over the Summer. I will be teaching Nia at Trinity Church every Tuesday at 8pm  and every Thursday at 10am to start with , with a view to open more classes as numbers grow. Last night was a great start, I am really thrilled, I had 14 people turn up, all ladies but men are welcome as well!  Being  the only Nia teacher in the Midlands, I am excited to see it grow like this, and so fast. People are really looking for a new way to exercise that doesn't involve pain and boredom. Nia is definitely the answer. During a Nia class you are given the opportunity to relax, to tone up, to release stress and to build muscles, doing it all with awareness and love. Being given the space to  reconnect with, accept and appreciate our bodies, this is the gift of Nia. As you can see, you get much more than an exercise class. Joy and pleasure are very much part of the equation too. I made a wish last night, the wish to create a Nia tribe in the Midlands, a community united around our love for movement, energy, and the joy of being in a moving, vibrant body. Every Nia routine has a feel to it and Opal has a very Tribal energy so I saw it as the ideal routine to start our Nia journey with. While we were dancing last night, I felt the energy of movement unfolding and reaching everybody in the room. My purpose as a Nia teacher is to nurture this energy so it reaches more and more of us. Tuesday was a great start. See you soon.

With Love and Light.

Magali
 
 

 So what do we teach in our classes and how do we teach it? Our aim is to teach authentic Cuban Salsa, which means it is not just about learning steps and combinations, it is more about understanding salsa music and its intricate rhythms and feeling those rhythms in your dance. We believe that listening to the music and understanding it makes you a better dancer.
"My big essential issue about everybody who looks at Cuban dance from the outside, is that they are missing the point. They go in looking for: 1) "moves" to fit in a syllabus -
2) expert instructors who "know the material" in some sense and pass it down to students in measured doses by teaching set combination after combination, including lessons in how to "remember to smile"...
It is not the way Salsa is experienced in Cuba. Dancing is part of the culture, passed on from generation to generation, everything is individualized. Never is dance disconnected from the music and the culture.
Cubanas will tell you they'd far rather dance with somebody with good feeling than somebody that knows lots of moves. This concept may be hard to understand by an outsider. Ultimately, all the dance "experts" outside think what we do, is "improve" on the Cuban thing. There is no awareness of what is lost in the process. But all that is really significant is ultimately, discarded.

Magali.